ToeJam and Earl 3 Sega Dreamcast Prototype Unearthed

The Sega Dreamcast has been dead for some years now, but it will forever live on in infamy as one of the best video game consoles ever in the hearts of many an aging millennial. The Dreamcast was Sega’s final console, and helped pave the way for the shift from 2D and quasi-3D to truly immersive 3D games. A Dreamcast fan has unearthed a prototype of ToeJam and Earl 3: Mission to Earth which was never officially released for the Dreamcast.

ToeJam and Earl are staples of the Sega universe, making their debut on the Sega Genesis and opening up a whole new world in the platforming genre. The two funky martians made their last appearance on Microsoft’s original Xbox, in ToeJam and Earl 3.

ZakHoooiTM, the Dreamcast enthusiast who discovered the ToeJam and Earl 3 DC release posted a copy of the beta game online for download and use. ZakHooiTM noticed the game when he plugged in a Dreamcast Dev-kit into his PC. He had snagged the dev-kit for $1200.

So, how does it look? Check out the video below to see the never released ToeJam and Earl 3 for the Dreamcast below! If you’re hankering for more details and would like to download the release, a Q&A from ZakHooiTM’s post and links follow below the video.

Q&A

Q: Did you get SEGA’s permission? A: Nope, I didn’t get any response. As this is a beta of a game for a console that’s already dead for 10+ Years I think they woudn’t care. And as long I don’t make any money from it, I’m not conflicting their intrests(I hope). I’m releasing this at my own risk.

Q: What about Greg Johnson?

A: There are pieces of the code that Greg and Mark don’t own(SDK’s, Katana Library’s, stuff that other people from Visual Concepts made) , so even though they don’t object to me sharing this within the community of Dreamcast enthusiasts, they can’t really give permission

As for the Intellectual Property goes, Greg and Mark wont sue me for using the IP in this context. However, there is ONE limitation and that is that it should never be sold or pressed to disc This would go past the whole “community release” thing.

Again to make it perfectly clear : He did not give me permission for releasing this game, he just turns his head the other way when it comes to the use of the Intellectual Property itself.

The Devkit

Q : How did you get your devkit ?

A : I got my devkit from ebay, bought it for around $1200 (plus additional costs such as customs and taxes)

Q : On what medium did you discover the game ?

A : When I received the devkit I was eager to see what was on the internal hard drive (all devkits have one, except older versions) I connected the kit to my PC and opened Windows Explorer, there where the raw files of the game. However, I had to rebuild the GD-M (GD Emulator) project file in order to get it to boot, when I got it to boot I went to AssemblerGames and showed my discovery. So there are no GD-ROMs that are discovered, I just got very lucky to find the game assets AND the binary to boot the game

The game

Q : Did you know ToeJam & Earl before the discovery ?

A : Before I had this devkit, I even didn’t really know ToeJam & Earl (I got a megadrive in the time, but was a hardcore sonic fan at the time and didn’t have ToeJam & Earl) But when I got it working on the devkit, I found it hilarious and to my amazement it works really smooth and looked quite good for a beta/alpha.

Game play

Q: How is the game ?

A : I’ve seen some video’s of ToeJam & Earl 3 version and it’s quite different from the version I found on the devkit. The version on the devkit is more like the original on the megadrive but then in 3D. So no bosses, gates, keys, mini-games and hub connected world. Also no cutscenes, you just begin at the begin of the map and go to the elevator then can go to the next level.

Q : What about stability ?

A : I found however that the game is becoming more unstable as you go through the levels. Levels 1 to 9 are stable, none to very few lockups. From level 10 and up, lockups become more frequent, however I was ble to get to Level 12, so it is possible